Wellness and Prevention in an Era of Patient Responsibility

Prevention is Your Choice

It is up to you to choose to have regular screening tests. While there is expert consensus about many areas of screening, there are some areas—like breast and prostate cancer screening—where expert opinions have differed, or changed, in recent years. In the case of some screening tests, you and your doctor will have to work together, considering your risks and personal preferences, to determine which are best for you.

Overall, the benefits of regular screening are compelling: when disease is detected early, your treatment is likely to be more effective and economical and your quality of life is usually better.

Your health care provider can help you understand what you are at risk for and what you can do about it, if you make time for routine screening tests as part of a regular a health exam.

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This article was last reviewed on April 24, 2012. | This article was last modified on November 7, 2014.

The review date indicates when the article was last reviewed from beginning to end to ensure that it reflects the most current science. A review may not require any modifications to the article, so the two dates may not always agree.

The modified date indicates that one or more changes were made to the article. Such changes may or may not result from a full review of the article, so the two dates may not always agree.